More Factory Work Means Gains for Made-in, Sold-in China

Others to watch are fashion brands such as Gap ( GPS). Gap manufactures in China, and in 2010 the American clothier opened its first four company-owned Gap brand stores there. Last year it added a shop in China's Taobao Mall, a massive e-commerce center.

But HSBC notes that China's long-term average manufacturing PMI is 51.7 per month and warns against assuming that smokestacks can again run full blast.

"We remain in the early stages of recovery and global economic growth is still fragile, so calling for continued policy easing if a W-shaped recovery -- the last thing new leaders want -- is to be avoided," the investment bank's statement says.